Trump Recognizes Islam as ‘One of the World’s Great Religions’, as he Hosts First Iftar Dinner

Wishing Muslims around the world a “Ramadan Mubarak” — a blessed holiday — President Donald Trump on Wednesday hosted his first White House dinner for Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, an overture that surprised many in the Muslim community after he skipped hosting such a meal last year.

Speaking at an iftar dinner, which breaks the daylong fast, Trump offered a message of unity, recognizing members of the Muslim community at home and abroad.

“In gathering together this evening, we honor a sacred tradition of one of the world’s great religions,” he told an intimate audience that included Cabinet members and ambassadors from many Muslim-majority nations including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

It was a dramatic departure from the inflammatory rhetoric Trump used during his campaign, when he called for a “complete and total shutdown” of Muslims entering the country, compared Syrian refugees fleeing civil war to a deadly snake and declared, “I think Islam hates us” in an interview with CNN.